Fang Yuan asked: "Then how many Gu are there in the blessed land now?"
The Hu Immortal land spirit raised her head by a bit: "At present, there are over eight hundred and sixty thousand rank one Gu, with about fifty-two types of them. Over a hundred and thirty thousand rank two Gu, with forty-eight types. Five thousand rank three Gu, with twelve types. Only over sixty rank four Gu, with eight types. And only one rank five Gu - fox skin Gu."
After Hu Immortal died, her obsession did not disappear and combined with this land's heavenly power to form into an unusual existence known as the land spirit. In some way, it could be said to be a continuation of her life.
Thus, the land spirit was the representative of this blessed land and was clear about everything in the blessed land.
As Fang Yuan had become the master of the blessed land now, everything in the blessed land was his.
Over eight hundred and sixty thousand rank one Gu, hundred and thirty thousand rank two Gu; these two combined meant nearly a million Gu worms!
Fang Yuan recalled the time in Qing Mao mountain, those days where he had to scheme and fight for two to three rank one and rank two Gu.
A blessed land could only be created by a Gu Immortal, it was the foundation of their wealth, a heavenly estate. Just this Hu Immortal Blessed Land alone could supply for a super clan. There would not be any problem to put five or six small-mid sized clans like Gu Yue clan here!
As for the Gu worms in the blessed land, their quantity sharply decreased at rank three. Rank four Gu worms did not reach hundred and there was only one rank five Gu.
This situation was also natural.
It was the same with Gu Masters.
Rank one and rank two Gu Masters were extremely common, rank three were already rare, rank four were even fewer, and only one or two rank five Gu Masters might appear among a million people.
This was a pyramid distribution; the quantity reduces the higher you go, and the ones who occupied the top were extremely few in numbers.
"This blessed land is still young and with appropriate managing, the quantity of the Gu worms will still increase. Reaching ten million rank one and two Gu will not be difficult. But whether I can raise them properly or not, it depends on the types and quantity of the rank four and rank five Gu." Fang Yuan calculated.
Mortal Gu Masters would usually only raise five or six Gu, while Gu Immortals could raise a million or even ten million Gu worms. The difference between the two is as far as the clouds were from the mud.
These Gu being raised in Hu Immortal blessed land could only be considered passable.
On one hand, the numbers were little, being only about a million. On another hand, the Gu were not elites. From the introduction Fang Yuan got, they were all ordinary Gu. If they were changed to Gu like liquor worm or breath concealment Gu, their value would be much higher.
Even the rank five fox skin Gu was an extremely common defensive Gu; it was effective against wind and water path Gu worms, but was difficult to use in complex battlefield. Fang Yuan did not even take a look at it.
The thing that really moved him was the time in the blessed land.
Time flowed five times faster in Hu Immortal blessed land. That is to say, one day in the outside world would mean five days here.
This meant Fang Yuan's cultivation speed would be five times faster in the blessed land! He could cultivate for a year and three months here when only three months would have passed in the outside world.
With this, Fang Yuan's cultivation speed would surpass most Gu Masters and he would have greater initiative for his future plans.
Naturally, there was a huge disadvantage to this. Fang Yuan's lifespan was only about a hundred years, thus with this, he would age five times faster as well.
The land spirit continued with the introduction: "At present, there are about a thousand groups of fox living here; red fox, golden fox, cloud fox, wind fox, autumn fox, flowing light fox, and so on. The three largest groups of foxes each has about eight hundred thousand foxes. Altogether, there are about four million and seven hundred thousand foxes."
Fang Yuan quietly listened to it and nodded his head.
Three groups of myriad foxes meant three myriad beast kings. The development of the beasts in the blessed land had still not reached a level of creating a beast emperor.
The classification of beasts was simple. From low to high, they were hundred beast king, thousand beast king, myriad beast king and beast emperor.
For example, Ba Huang and Ying Ming of three kings inheritance were two beast emperors with battle strength that could match rank five Gu Masters; they were able to temporarily obstruct Mo Wu Tian and Xiao Mang's advance.
"There are a lot of fox groups, but unfortunately they are all common foxes and not mutated beasts." Fang Yuan inwardly evaluated.
Ordinary beast's worth naturally could not compare with mutated beasts. Examples would be comparing boar and thunder boar; green bull and kunlun bull; wild dog and lion mastiff.
Above the mutated beasts were desolate beasts; above desolate beasts were ancient desolate beasts and immemorial desolate beasts.
Song Zi Xing's violent blood dragon bat was an ancient desolate beast, one of the nine true inheritances of Ancestor Blood Sea. Immemorial desolate beasts were recorded in <>, an example would be the nine-tailed fox.
"Raising a nine-tailed fox in Hu Immortal blessed land is but a dream. Even raising an ancient desolate beast is impossible. If it is ordinary desolate beasts like hurricane fox or phoenix wings fox, raising one or two of them could be feasible but it would greatly depend on luck." Fang Yuan continued to consider.
Since he had obtained Hu Immortal blessed land, his plans after rebirth had reached a whole new level, thus he had to revise and modify them. @@novelbin@@
At this time, Jia clan's internal strife should have already stirred like a wildfire and he would not be able to participate in it. He also could not participate in the great battle of Yi Tian mountain. Fang Yuan intended to make full use of this Hu Immortal blessed land and cultivate to the realm of Gu Immortal. This meant that he not only had to resist the continuous earthly calamities but also had to manage the blessed land.
Currently, the Gu worms were barely passable and the foxes might be ordinary but they had the potential to grow.
"Actually, there were a lot more fox groups in the blessed land. At least, three times more than the present. But the second earthly calamity caused a meteor fire rain that smashed the blessed land's east area into ruins, burning hundreds of thousands of foxes to death; the dark flames of that time have not been extinguished even now. The fourth earthly calamity was a huge flood that submerged most of the grassland of the blessed land's northern area, killing many more foxes. Thus, there are only this many remaining at present." The land spirit pursed her pink lips, her eyes revealing fear and panic as she talked about the earth calamity.
At the same time, she waved her small hand and smoke flew to the air, showing the scenes of the eastern and northern parts of the blessed land.
Fang Yuan could see: The eastern part was a scene of ruin with dust and smoke pervading the whole place. There were meteoric craters all over the place, and black flames were burning around the craters. The flames burned without emitting the least bit of sound, but this manifested an even more terrifying aura.
And the northern part was a scene of vast clear water. Dark clouds rumbled in the air and rain fell endlessly. The surging water emitted bleak and gloomy sound. There were bits of grass and destroyed flowers, along with fox corpses floating on the water.
"These are the dark flame meteor and clouded white sea calamities." Seeing such a bleak scene, Fang Yuan could not help feeling gloomy.
The might of an earthly calamity was extremely strong, moreover there were countless types of calamity, and were simply impossible to plan against.
Every ten years, the earthly calamity would pose a destructive threat towards the blessed land. Hu Immortal defended for five times before losing her life. And the devastation the previous earthly calamities left were still there and had not been cured.
This was a really bad news to Fang Yuan.
Hu Immortal Blessed Land has an area of 4000km2, but northern and eastern areas were gone, causing the loss of over 1300km2 of area. Such loss was truly disastrous.
"I must settle these two problems. Apart from anything else, a lot of Immortal Essence will be used in order to suppress the burning black flames and the spreading flood." Fang Yuan mumbled in a soft voice.
However, following immediately, Hu Immortal land spirit mentioned an even worse news.
"Master, the biggest trouble is here. Look, this is what was left from the fifth earthly calamity." She waved her hand and the image changed to show a different scene.
Fang Yuan saw a scene of scorched black prairie, and a human figure formed from blue lightning was sitting cross-legged on the ground.
It's physique was not big and looked quite alluring, however it was formed purely from lightning. The glorious blue light let out an extremely terrifying might!
"Human shaped lightning, this is the earth calamity — blue charm lightning shadow!" Fang Yuan drew in a cold breath.
This human shaped lightning was one of the earth calamities; it was extremely strong and could match a rank six Gu Immortal!
Fang Yuan looked at this scene and immediately realized the killer that killed Hu Immortal was probably this blue charm lightning shadow!
Hu Immortal was an enslavement path Gu Master who controlled fox groups. Enslavement path was strong but also weak, and could very easily be subdued by beheading the leader tactics. Although there were many fox groups, they could not obstruct blue charm lightning shadow. In the end, Hu Immortal had to fight the lightning figure in close combat and lost her life.
"Damn it, how could there be this lightning shadow in this blessed land?" Fang Yuan's expression turned extremely unsightly.
He had ways to slowly settle the previous two troubles. However, this human shaped lightning was already beyond his current ability.
"Master, you need to be careful when you roam around later, this human shaped lightning strolls randomly around the blessed land. Only Dang Hun Mountain, it dares not approach." The land spirit's pink and delicate face was bathed in the image of the blue lightning, her voice slightly shaky.
"This lightning is an earth calamity but is also a type of living thing. Since it is a living thing, it has a soul and thus if it approaches Dang Hun Mountain, its soul will receive shockwaves until it turns to ashes." Fang Yuan had already settled his mind now.
"Maybe I can use Dang Hun Mountain to settle this lightning shadow? But how can I lure it?" Fang Yuan's thoughts took a turn, however the next instant the buzzing noise echoed in his ears again.
He shook his head and did not continue thinking.
"Are there any other bad news, tell them all at once." He gave a bitter smile and asked the land spirit.
The situation was much worse than what he imagined. Hu Immortal blessed land was in imminent crisis; whether it was the internal worries or external aggression, they were both very grave.
As for Feng Jin Huang - with Gu Immortal parents and also the help of Spirit Affinity House - she naturally did not need to worry about these things.
But Fang Yuan was just a lone force.
Naturally, there were benefits that only a lone force could have. In the biography of Feng Jin Huang, it was recorded Feng Jin Huang had to offer a large amount of resources to her sect after obtaining the blessed land.
The land spirit shook her small head. She had already reported the worst situations, remaining were all good news.
First of all, in the southern area of the blessed land lived a tribe of rockmen.
Rockman was a type of variant humans who lived underground and ate ore as food.
This news was an unexpected surprise to Fang Yuan.
Secondly, there was abundant immortal essence in Hu Immortal blessed land.
The land spirit brought Fang Yuan to the palace in Dang Hun Mountain. In the deepest parts of the palace was an enormous golden bowl which was filled with green immortal essence.
Besides the green liquid in the bowl, most of the Immortal Essence had automatically congealed into a ball. At first glance, it looked like a grape.
This was something only rank six Gu Immortals had — green grape immortal essence!
Each green grape immortal essence pearl contained immortal essence that was much more than the immortal essence in the three kings blessed land.
"With this immortal essence, there is still quite a bit of hope!" Fang Yuan finally breathed in relief.
-x-X-x-
Fang Yuan counted, the golden bowl had seventy-eight pieces of green grape immortal essence. Adding in the layer of blue-green immortal liquid essence at the bottom of the bowl, it amounted to seventy-eight pieces and a half.
There was ample immortal essence, a hundred times that of the three kings blessed land.
Fang Yuan took out one bead of green grape immortal essence, holding it in his hand, willing and summoning fixed immortal travel Gu.
Fixed immortal travel Gu was like jade, a meticulously crafted butterfly, it was brilliant and elegant, flying over smoothly.
Fang Yuan's face paled as his body shook, cold sweat emerging on his body as his vision turned dark. If he was not holding onto the golden railing at the side, he would have fallen.
"Master, be careful. Your soul injury was severe, do not summon an Immortal Gu so carelessly, otherwise you would fall into another coma." Little Hu Immortal shouted, her tone anxious and her expression concerned.
"No worry, I know." Fang Yuan gritted his teeth, waving his hand as he spread his palm for fixed immortal travel Gu to land.
fixed immortal travel Gu sensed the green grape immortal essence's aura and fluttered its wings, gliding in the air and landing in Fang Yuan's palm.
Next, it laid down on the green grape immortal essence and slowly consumed it.
Fixed immortal travel's name contained an "immortal" word, that was not for show. Its food was immortal essence.
A moment later, one green grape immortal essence was expended.
Gu Masters refine Gu, use Gu, and nurture Gu. After Fang Yuan succeeded in its refinement, he had not fed the fixed immortal travel Gu yet.
He slept for seven days and seven nights, the fixed immortal travel Gu was starving and its lustrous wings had dimmed.
This was Fang Yuan's first feeding session for it.
After fixed immortal travel Gu had its fill, it spread its wings and flew in the air. The bright green light appeared again, like dust particles in the air, every time it flapped its wings, it would be a beautiful light show. The unique aura of an Immortal Gu continued to radiate.
"Immortal Gu are expensive to feed, fixed immortal travel Gu consumes an entire piece of immortal essence every time! But after this, I would not need to feed it for six years."
The higher the rank of the Gu worm, the heavier the cost to feed it, but the interval between each feeding session would increase greatly as well.
Rank one and two Gu worms needed to be fed every few days. Rank four were fed one a few months. Rank five were fed every one or two years, and each time they ate, it would be extremely expensive.
Aftering feeding fixed immortal travel Gu, Fang Yuan left it alone to roam Dang Hun palace, as long as it did not leave Dang Hun mountain and get killed by that lightning shadow.
At this moment, Fang Yuan's aperture was still rank four upper stage, it could not contain a perfectly healthy Immortal Gu.
The reason he could keep Spring Autumn Cicada was because it was too weak. Other than that, it was also his vital Gu.
Problems are classified into important and trivial, after understanding his situation, Fang Yuan confirmed that he was safe for the time being. After settling fixed immortal travel Gu's matter, he had to fix his soul's injury next.
"Let's go, little Hu Immortal, go find the gutstones with me."
"Yes!" Land spirit answered quickly: "Master, you should've done this long ago, come with me."
Little Hu Immortal brought Fang Yuan to Dang Hun mountain.
The two moved on the uneven mountain rocks, Fang Yuan's body was swaying, causing the land spirit to feel worried: "Master, shall I teleport you over?"
"Teleport for what? We have to save immortal essence!" Fang Yuan stared with wide eyes.
Little Hu Immortal stuck out her tongue, frightened by Fang Yuan's words, thinking: This master is so domineering, even if he is injured, he is still so scary.
"Master, there is a gutstone here." After walking for a while, land spirit stopped and pointed at a rock below her feet, shouting.
This stone was like a person's gallstone, it grew on the mountain rocks, having mixed colors. If one did not look properly, they would think it was an ordinary stone.
Fang Yuan quickly walked over, squatting down and smashing this gutstone with his hand.
Once the stone shattered, a Gu flew out and turned into a grey eerie light, entering Fang Yuan's body.
Fang Yuan felt his brain turning clear, a new type of strength had entered his soul, and the buzzing in his ears had lessened.
Dang Hun mountain could shook souls, it was the death grounds of all living beings. It was only because of the land spirit's suppression that Fang Yuan could move around with ease.
But Dang Hun mountain was not a simple death ground.
The souls of living beings break into pieces on the mountain, scattering and fusing with the mountain. As time passes, gutstones are formed.
And in some gutstones, guts Gu are found, it could strengthen a person's soul.
This is like how the resting place of a poisonous snake has the herbs to create an antidote. All living beings compete, and the world is fair; where there is life, there is death.
Dang Hun mountain might look like an absolute death ground, but a chance of survival was hidden in it.
But this guts Gu can only exist for an instant, after that, it would either disperse or be broken down by Dang Hun mountain again. Although the land spirit can suppress the mountain, the gutstones cannot be moved, they can only be used on the spot. Thus, Fang Yuan had to go there himself and walk around Dang Hun mountain.
After being rejuvenated by this guts Gu, Fang Yuan was like a thirsty traveller in the desert getting a mouthful of fresh water.
He continued on his way, and with this land spirit acting as a dutiful guide, they found another dozen gutstones, smashing them open one by one.
Thus, Fang Yuan gained another eight guts Gu to replenish his soul. Not only did his injuries heal completely, it even improved compared to before.
"Hahaha, with this Dang Hun mountain, I have a mountain of gutstones. As long as I continue to consume guts Gu, one day, the foundation of my soul will reach a stage where no one has ever gotten to!"
Standing at the mountain waist, Fang Yuan became spirited as he laughed loudly.
Hu Immortal was a lucky person, because of an opportunity, she managed to obtain Dang Hun mountain, like she won lottery, and moved it into her blessed land.
But she was an extremely unlucky person, dying during the fifth earthly calamity.
"If it was not for the blue charm lightning shadow, she would eventually become the strongest enslavement path expert! Unfortunately, Hu Immortal only had Dang Hun mountain, but did not manage to use it for herself. But fortunately, this Dang Hun mountain is mine now!"
The most valuable part of Hu Immortal blessed land was this Dang Hun mountain!
Of course, the soul could not be strengthened endlessly with guts Gu. Once the soul was not concentrated enough, using large numbers of guts Gu would cause it to over-inflate and trigger a certain-death disaster.
But Fang Yuan had his five hundred years of experience, all his ups and downs after rebirth, constantly struggling at death's door, his soul was already tempered like steel!
Keeping calm at the face of death, a heart of ice at impending doom.
To Fang Yuan, a few hundred guts Gu was no problem at all.
There were a lot of benefits and implications in having a strong soul foundation. Be it refining Gu or enslaving beasts, it would make it much easier. Other than these, once the soul becomes stronger, Fang Yuan would not have to worry about killer moves like Mo Wu Tian's purple eyes.
Dang Hun mountain is a forbidden ground, first appearing in <>.
Legend says that Verdant Great Sun flew towards the sky, and ended plunging to his death.
Ren Zu, as his father, was extremely upset after receiving the news, finding wisdom Gu for an explanation.
It was wisdom Gu who taught Verdant Great Sun to drink, causing the series of events thereafter.
Wisdom Gu quickly said: "Ren Zu, oh Ren Zu, don't find trouble with me. Although your son died, it is not impossible to revive him. As long as you enter the door of life and death, and lead him towards the road of life, walking under the sunlight, he would be revived.
Ren Zu was shocked, before becoming overjoyed, and then extremely furious.
He grabbed wisdom Gu and questioned: "Wisdom Gu, oh wisdom Gu, do you still think I am that ignorant boy from before? The door of life and death is a dangerous place, once I enter I will never be able to leave. After harming my son, you want to kill me too?"
Wisdom Gu quickly said: "Other living beings do not know the secret of the door of life and death, thus they cannot leave. But I can teach you all of these secrets."
"You are a living person, to enter the door of life and death, you have to enter from the road of death. This road is extraordinary, it was the road left behind by destiny Gu when it left fairness Gu. The road left behind was called path of destiny. There are many suffering Gu inside the path of life, you have to enter from the road of death, and you need to own courage Gu. That way, you will not fear the torture of suffering."
"When you enter the door of life and death, and see fairness Gu, you are already dead. But at the same time, you will see your eldest son, Verdant Great Sun's soul. You will bring him away, and go out from another road, the road of life. Road of life was the path treaded on by destiny Gu when it visited fairness Gu, it is also called the path of destiny."
"But during this path, you will meet three obstacles. One is Dang Hun mountain, another is called Luo Po valley, and lastly the reverse flow river. To climb past Dang Hun mountain, you have to smash the gutstones on it, and obtain guts Gu's help. To get past Luo Po valley, you need to find faith Gu to help. To get through the reverse flow river, you have to move forward continuously, not stopping for even a second during the process."
Ren Zu heard wisdom Gu's words and let it go.
He quickly found faith Gu.
Ever since he became blind, faith Gu's light was the only light he could see.
"Oh Ren Zu, I can feel your determination in getting back your eldest son. I am willing to help you, but I urge you not to give up on this goal. Because when you give up, I will leave you for good." Faith Gu said with concern.
Ren Zu found courage Gu next.
Courage Gu and hope Gu were good companions.
Ren Zu had hope Gu, and thus saw courage Gu occasionally, he had a decent relationship with it.
After getting courage Gu's help, Ren Zu came to the door of life and death, entering the road of death.
The road of death was pure darkness, the large number of suffering Gu were like yellow fireflies, swarming towards Ren Zu. At this time, courage Gu shone brightly, chasing away the suffering Gu for Ren Zu.
Courage was needed to face death.
Ren Zu succeeded in going down, his body turned whiter as it turned hollow, gradually turning into a ghost.
He could "see" again.
When he got to the end of the road, amidst the calm darkness, he saw fairness Gu.
He was extremely shocked by fairness Gu's huge body, exclaiming: "You are fairness Gu? Why is your body so huge? A mountain is a speck of dust compared to you. The sea is like a droplet compared to you."
Fairness Gu's voice was grand: "Life and death are the greatest fairness in this world, when I am inside the door of life and death, my body will become enormous. Oh Ren Zu, you are here for your son right. Feel free to go, he is right there."
-x-X-x-
Ren Zu was overjoyed upon seeing his son and ran towards him.
Verdant Great Sun had turned into a white ghost and was lying beside a lake, scooping out the water with a bowl and drinking it.
The water was like wine with its fragrance pervading the area.
Verdant Great Sun drank it with utmost satisfaction.
"My son, don't drink anymore. Come, let's go back." Ren Zu walked towards Verdant Great Sun and shouted.
"Esteemed father, how did you come here? This is great, let's drink together." Verdant Great Sun opened his hazy eyes and looked at Ren Zu.
Ren Zu seized the wine bowl from him and said with exasperation: "Don't drink anymore, you only know how to drink wine! Everyone knows there is a bewitching lake in the land of the dead, and its water is the bewitching soup. When ghosts drink it, they become muddle-headed and lose the desire to leave."
Verdant Great Sun, however, refuted: "Father, you are wrong. This is not the bewitching soup, it is the soul calming wine. It can calm down your soul and remove all the impurities; your soul will no longer be restless and you will experience utmost tranquility in your heart. This is one of the best quality wines in this world."
"I don't care what wine it is, you have to follow me back." Ren Zu pulled Verdant Great Sun's hand, but found Verdant Great Sun was as heavy as a mountain and could not be budged.
Verdant Great Sun shook his head: "Some people, upon death, will be as heavy as a mountain. Some people, upon death, will be light as a feather. Father, I had reputation Gu in my life and died after bathing in the light of glory. When I arrived here, my body had become heavier than a mountain, I cannot even walk a single step and can only lie down here."
"What!" Ren Zu immediately felt gloomy and anxiously shouted, "I told you before, a tall tree attracts the wind, reputation is not always a good thing. Throw away the reputation Gu."
Verdant Great Sun shook his head and sighed: "We were not born with fame and fortune, we also cannot take them with us after death. After I died, reputation Gu left me. It is fixed immortal travel Gu that has accompanied me."
Fixed immortal travel Gu could bring Verdant Great Sun's soul out of the door of life and death or even bring him to any place in the outside world.
However, Verdant Great Sun could only truly resurrect after walking through the path of life.
"What do we do now..." Ren Zu realized he had been played by wisdom Gu. Although he had arrived at the deepest part of the door of life and death — a death domain that had endless darkness, and has also found Verdant Great Sun, he discovered he could not bring back his son.
At this moment, fairness Gu spoke: "Oh Ren Zu, do you still not understand? There are only two paths in door of life and death, both appeared because of destiny Gu. Life and death is determined by destiny! All living beings live and thus die, this is the cycle that allows the universe to continue existing. Your eldest son Verdant Great Sun died, this is destiny and you should accept it. Moreover, he is living a good life here, obsession death domain is the world's most tranquil place. He is drinking the world's supreme quality wine and is free from all the worries of the outside world, do you know how blissful this is?"
Ren Zu stood there and looked at his flesh and blood for a while before heaving a deep sigh.
He knew he could not bring back his son's soul, at least it was like that for now.
He bid farewell to the fairness Gu and also his son, and left the obsession death domain.
He stepped on another path this time; it was the path of life which went from darkness to light.
However, Ren Zu soon realized walking this path was countless times more difficult than when he walked in through the path of death.
There were many more suffering Gu on path of life than path of death. When Ren Zu had walked through the path of death, his journey became smoother along the way and the suffering Gu lesser the further he walked. But as he walked through the path of life, there was not only more suffering Gu, but every step he took would cause much more suffering Gu to fly over and obstruct him.
Courage Gu could not resist them any longer: "Ren Zu, there are too many suffering Gu and they will continue to increase. There is peace in death, but life has endless suffering. Go to Dang Hun mountain quickly and break some gutstones. If you want to survive, just relying on courage won't be enough, you need guts too."
Ren Zu hurried forward to Dang Hun mountain and picked the guts Gu while enduring the tremors in his soul. @@novelbin@@
With guts Gu's help, his soul strengthened grealy, and although he still suffered the tremors, it was not of much worry.
He passed through Dang Hun mountain and arrived at Luo Po valley.
Luo Po valley was a maze with winding and twisted paths. Occasionally, there were a large area of bewilderment fog which could cause the soul to loosen; and occasionally, Luo Po wind would blow through and cut apart the soul.
Ren Zu had fallen into the lowest part of my life and could not distinguish the directions. Because his soul was strengthened by guts Gu, it was loosening in the bewilderment fog at a slower speed. The loosened soul was cut apart by the Luo Po wind.
Ren Zu almost completely lost his way, but fortunately at this time, faith Gu flew out and shone upon his path.
Ren Zu was able to walk out of the Luo Po valley with only the essence of his soul remaining.
He let out a huge breath of relief and could feel he was close to success.
He walked to the reverse flowing river, this was the final barrier in the path of life.
It was extremely difficult to move against the stream.
Endless suffering pushed upon him, causing him to make very slow progress.
However, he forcibly persevered and walked towards the light.
"Almost there." He looked at the success that was just ahead of him, only one final step remained.
He let out a breath of turbid air and relaxed; forgetting the warning of the wisdom Gu, he stopped.
This brief pause caused Ren Zu to be washed away by the river.
Life was not easy, it was like a boat moving against the flow of the river, if you do not continue moving forward, you will be pushed back.
Ren Zu was washed away by the river into the depths of Luo Po valley, he was so tired he could not budge a bit and was trapped in the Luo Po valley.
...
Fang Yuan broke the final guts stone and groaned in satisfaction.
Right now, he felt very comfortable. The heavy injuries in his soul were already completely recovered and moreover, his soul had even strengthened by five times!
A feeling of power burst out from the depths of his heart.
This feeling did not come from the strengthening of his physical body but from the vigor of his spirits. Fang Yuan had a feeling he could do anything easily, whether it was analyzing problems or doing multiple tasks.
"Unfortunately, there are only over a hundred gutstones on Dang Hun mountain and not all of them contained guts Gu." Fang Yuan felt some regret.
When Hu Immortal obtained Dang Hun mountain, it had already changed hands several times and was completed looted.
Hu Immortal moved it to the blessed land and managed it for decades. Almost every year, she would send large amounts of foxes to their deaths at Dang Hun mountain. Using their soul to irrigate the mountain and create gutstones.
However, these gutstones were almost all used by the Hu Immortal. After she died, these over hundred gutstones had slowly grown over close to eight years and now were completely used by Fang Yuan.
According to the Hu Immortal land spirit's description, close to ten thousand foxes needed to be sacrificed to grow a guts stone. The stronger the beast kings that died, the more gutstones would be produced.
Fang Yuan could not adopt this method.
When the blessed land was at its prime, it was inevitable and alright for Hu Immortal to do so. However, the blessed land was very weak now and the fox groups had decreased by a large amount. Killing these fox groups was not sensible for long term prospects.
With his soul injuries recovered, Fang Yuan started quietly thinking his future plans without relaxing the slightest bit.
Obtaining the Hu Immortal blessed land was no doubt a huge help to his plans, but at the same time also greatly affected his plans.
"Now, with Dang Hun mountain in my possession, my soul's foundation can continue to strengthen. And from my previous life, I have experience and insight in controlling the blood bats, such enormous advantage should be used. Walking the enslavement path is an obvious choice now."
"However, there is also a disadvantage in enslavement path in that the enslavement path Gu Masters can be easily assaulted and beheaded. So I cannot relax in my strength path cultivation as well!"
With this, Fang Yuan was going to walk on both strength and enslavement paths, organizing and feeding two sets of Gu worms.
If it was before, it would be difficult for Fang Yuan to do this. But now, with Hu Immortal blessed land, it would be no problem.
"The perfect outcome is to refine second aperture Gu. With second aperture, I could divide the sets of enslavement and strength path into different apertures without disturbing each other. At the same time, there would be enough primeval essence to control the two sets of Gu worms."
At that time, with a wave of his hand, a huge army of beasts and insects would cover the sky and earth, creating a river of blood in a blink of an eye, creating destruction and mayhem.
If there was any foolish person who tried to use the tactic of beheading the leader, then Fang Yuan's strength path cultivation would make them realize how cruel reality was and why flowers were red 1 !
Thinking of this, Fang Yuan took out the second aperture Gu from his aperture.
This Gu was like a peanut shell, shining with golden light, the patterns on its surface were scarlet veins of blood. This was the embryo form of the second aperture Gu, formed from combining false Gu and lifespan Gu; it could survive for forty years.
"There are enough immortal essence to truly refine the second aperture Gu, two third watch Gu can also be easily obtained, but I still require divine travel Gu." Fang Yuan pondered.
Immortal Gu were unique, only one Immortal Gu of the same type could exist in the world. Divine travel Gu was already transformed into fixed immortal travel Gu and no longer existed now. This allowed a new divine travel Gu to appear in the world.
Moreover, there was an extraordinary advantage of divine travel Gu - it could be easily obtained. It was not like the other Immortal Gu that were so hard to capture.
The legends of Ren Zu had written it clearly; as long as one drank the four top quality wines of the world, divine travel Gu could condense into being in their body.
Apart from the wine brewed by the wild beasts and those that were naturally formed, human's brewing techniques had flourished continually, and now the amount of top quality wines were much more than the ancient times.
Searching for the four top quality wines might be somewhat troublesome, but could be done by spending some time.
Fang Yuan had the blessed land and the assistance of the little Hu Immortal land spirit,
But the main problem did not lie here.
Because divine travel Gu could be easily obtained, others could also easily take advantage of it. In case, someone else obtained divine travel Gu, no matter how much top quality wines Fang Yuan drank, he would not obtain the divine travel Gu.
"Southern Border's Fei clan possess a top quality wine Zhuang Si Fei. Eastern Sea's rank seven Gu Immortal Zui Xian Weng has created a sea of wine, concealing countless wines, and holds a wine reception every year. Northern Plain's Imperial court has the long life wine. These great forces or maybe other Gu Immortals as well could be in possession of one or two top quality wine; their chances of obtaining divine travel Gu is much greater than mine."
With this calculation, Fang Yuan not only had to resist the earthly calamity and manage the blessed land, he also had to quickly gather the four top quality wine and refine second aperture Gu.
"However, these are not all, the crucial point lies in Spring Autumn Cicada. Time is flowing five times faster here, Spring Autumn Cicada's recovery speed will also become extremely quick. Being able to rebirth three times is already an extremely good luck, I cannot gamble on luck the fourth time. Before Spring Autumn Cicada recovers, I need to have success at first attempt Gu, immediate success Gu, smooth success Gu or any of the others."
Fang Yuan did not have enough strength before. Now, he had the blessed land and abundant resources, he could try to get these Gu already.
-x-X-x-
Hu Immortal blessed land, southern district.
"Yan Yong, Yan Yong, wake up quickly. Stop sleeping, you've slept for three years already!"
A voice woke Yan Yong up from his sleep.
A lump of grey stones with a mossy surface started to vibrate, as the tremors intensified, causing the dust to disperse. From the large oval stone, four limbs and a head appeared like the blossoming of a flower.
Next, a grey rockman stood up — Yan Yong woke up from his sleep.
"Grandpa?" Yan Yong opened his eyes, looking at the rockman who woke him up, it was his eight hundred year old grandpa, the leader of the Hui Shi tribe.
"Grandpa, why did you wake me up, I want to sleep for another two to three years." Yan Yong sighed, begrudging.
Rockmen loved to sleep. When they sleep, the curled into a ball, forming a large oval stone. Each sleeping session lasts seven to eight years.
"Stop sleeping, my grandson, you are already a hundred and eighty years old. Your father died earlier, and I cannot live much longer. In a few decades, you will be our Hui Shi tribe's new tribe leader."
Rockmen have a long lifespan, generally a thousand years to live. Ordinary humans could barely live for a hundred years, but Yan Yong was a hundred and eighty, and had just reached adulthood.
"Grandpa, I do not want to be tribe leader. After becoming leader, I will not have time to sleep casually anymore." Yan Yong pouted, but saw his grandpa staring angrily, and chose to shut up.
Hui Shi tribe leader chided: "Why haven't you grown up? You slept for so many years in vain. Quickly pack up, and clean the moss off you, pull off all the weed that had grown on you. Bring the offerings with you and go with grandpa to the ground, we have to meet the immortal, we cannot be disrespectful!"
"Ah? It is time to pay offerings to the immortal again? But I remember there is still a year left." Yan Yong said as he plucked the weed off him.
After sleeping for so many years, his armpits, his groin, and back all had lots of weed. Especially the black thread grass in his groin area, they were hard as steel and curly. Every time he plucked one, Yan Yong felt great pain.
"Sigh, there is a problem this time. The immortal changed, this immortal came not too long ago, he is calling for us." Old clan leader sighed and said with worry.
"New male immortal? I hope he is easier to speak to than that female immortal. Maybe we can discuss with him, after all, we have to contribute so much offerings every ten years, it is taxing."
"Mm, the other tribe leaders and I also have this thought."
...
On a large altar made of green rocks, Fang Yuan wore his black robe as his long black hair was let down, sitting at the main seat staring at the people below with his deep dark pupils.
There were tens of rockmen kneeling below, among them, eight were rockmen leaders, two grey rockmen, three granite rockmen, one iron rockman, one green rockman, and one white rockman.
At the same time, there were offerings.
Large amounts of ore containing gold, silver, bronze, iron, as well as other gems and jewels, Gu worms etc.
All sorts of metallic elements would grow on the rockmen's bodies as time passed. Fang Yuan looked at these offerings, understanding at once why Dang Hun palace was built so luxuriously.
If these were brought to Earth, they would be a huge asset, but here, their greatest use was to become Gu refinement materials.
Hu Immortal using these things as decoration was only her womanly love for beauty. If she could choose to exchange them for primeval stones, she would trade away all these gems and jewels without a second thought.
Among the offerings, the most valuable were Gu worms.
But these Gu were mostly rank one rock skin Gu, rank two monolith Gu. There was only one rank three Gu, stone aperture Gu.
Fang Yuan had once used this Gu, back then Spring Autumn Cicada's pressure on the aperture could not be relieved, thus when he was desperate, he used it.
The rockmen were skilled at digging, they lived deep underground. Their food was dirt, and sometimes when they dig underground, they would discover Gu worms.
"What did you say? You want to reduce the offerings?" Fang Yuan's eyes squinted as he stood up, slowly walking down the stairs, coming towards the rockmen leaders.
The rockmen were tall and huge, even when they kneeled on the ground, their shoulders were still higher than Fang Yuan's head.
"Esteemed lord immortal, our rockmen tribes have contributed so much offerings during these thirty years. During these years, the earth rumbled, the north area had floods, the east area had fires, life is difficult. These things that we managed to acquire are getting harder and harder to find. Immortal, please have mercy, and forgive our inability, reduce the offering amount by a bit." The oldest rockmen tribe leader begged.
"That's right, lord immortal, please reduce the offerings."
"These years, we have been decreasing in numbers."
"Immortal, please understand, we will never forget your kindness!"
The other rockmen leaders started saying.
"Reduce the offerings? Hehehe, of course you can! In fact, I can exempt you all from these offerings." Fang Yuan smiled kindly and warmly.
The rockmen's expression were joyous.
"But I have a condition." Next, Fang Yuan said: "I need you all to dig a river, from the north, transport the water towards the east, to stop the fire from spreading."
"What?!" Hearing this, the rockmen were shocked.
Quickly, they reacted, shouting loudly.
"Esteemed lord immortal, you cannot do this!"
"Digging a river from scratch, this is a huge project, we rockmen need sleep. Without sufficient sleep, we will die."
"And there is a great fire and huge amounts of water. You ask us to go dig a river, but isn't that asking us to go die?!"
At once, everyone flew into a rage. Many young rockmen were kneeling at one corner, but hearing this, they rushed over, staring at Fang Yuan vigilantly.
"Master." Hu Immortal land spirit beside Fang Yuan saw this and she felt slightly worried.
The rockmen had a stubborn nature, they had foolhardiness, emphasizing their pride and would not accede to demands. When they are rash, they would even attack Demon Venerables or Immortal Venerables, regardless of who the other party is.
Hu Immortal was only to contain these rockmen because at the start, she had spent a lot of effort and gave them a lot of benefits. @@novelbin@@
"Master, these rockmen do not reason with people, asking them to offer these things was already their limit..." Little Hu Immortal sent her thoughts to Fang Yuan secretly, reminding him.
"Limit?" Fang Yuan scoffed, his mouth opening as he showed his bright white teeth, laughing ruthlessly: "You rockmen are too insolent, you dare to bargain with me? Hmph! The place you are living at is mine. The dirt you eat is mine. The spirit spring beside your tribe is also mine. You live here, you are my slave! I want to dig a new river, that is not a request, and not a transaction, it is an order!"
The rockmen heard this and they all stood up, looking furious.
"Immortal, you don't know what's good for you, you dare to look down on us rockmen!"
"Back then when we relocated here, it was because of a female immortal. But the environment here is getting worse, who would want to stay here anymore?"
"You want us to dig a river, that is asking us to die. Do you think we rockmen are fools?"
"We rockmen are born from heaven and earth, we will not be your slaves. Let's go, relocate, I've had enough of this shitty place!"
The rockmen leaders shouted, falling out with Fang Yuan at once.
The followers they brought, the young rockmen all came forward, clenching their fists as they stared at Fang Yuan with a dangerous look.
"You want to leave? Hahaha." Fang Yuan threw his head back and laughed, like he had heard the funniest joke in the world. Next, he stopped laughing, looking at these rockmen coldly, his tone was chilly: "Where do you think this is? Come and go as you please? The old rules are no more, from today onwards, I am the greatest ruler, my words are heaven's will! You will abide by my rules, even if you don't want to!"
"Ahh!" Many young rockmen clenched their fists and howled.
"Immortal, you are trying to step over my tribe's baseline!"
"Immortal, you might be strong, but we are not afraid."
"We rockmen will never lower our heads to brute force, we are natural warriors, we fear no death!"
"Only love can make us dig out our hearts. Only warmth can make us lower our backs."
Roar!
Fang Yuan pushed with his hand and a golden dragon flew out.
The golden dragon roared, killing the rockman that was screaming the loudest.
"Ah, he killed the granite rockmen's old tribe leader!"
"Old tribe leader is dead, we have to get revenge!!"
"Even an immortal has to die under our tribe's fury!"
Granite old tribe leader's death was like the trigger, causing the rockmen's anger to erupt.
The rockmen attacked Fang Yuan in waves, every step made a dent in the ground, as they gave off an impressive aura. Dozens of rockmen attacked together, giving off the disposition of a grand army of ten thousand.
From their bodies, numerous lights shone. There were also Gu worms inhibiting these rockmen's bodies, they were activated through their will.
But a moment later, these lights vanished.
Little Hu Immortal struck, sealing all the Gu worms.
Fang Yuan snickered as he began his slaughter.
The rockmen were not afraid of death, but their strength was inferior to fang Yuan, they were all broken down into shards, dying a pathetic death.
But these rock fragments gathered like magnets, forming new rockmen.
"Kill!"
"Resist the tyranny, take revenge for father!!"
"We are born from heaven and earth, we die due to heaven and earth, thus we have no fear!"
Tiny rockmen charged over, and were all slaughtered by Fang Yuan.
But these rock fragments gathered into even smaller rockmen.
The number of these rockmen continued to shrink, but after they were formed, they charged towards Fang Yuan and shouted things like exacting revenge for their grandpa, father etc.
This was the way the rockmen reproduced. It was a male only race, after the old rockmen dies, the soul and rocks they split into will form new rockmen, and inherit a portion of the old rockmen's memories, or some important experiences. In some cases, old rockmen sleep too much and their soul foundation accumulates to a degree, they would split out a portion of their bodies to form new tiny rockmen.
After Fang Yuan killed the third wave of rockmen, the world was finally silent once more.
Only one rockman remained, lying on the ground, shivering.
"What is your name?" Fang Yuan slowly walked towards him.
"My... my name is Yan... Yan Yong." The young rockman stammered.
"Do you know why I left only you alive?" Fang Yuan stood on Yan Yong's head.
"No... I do not know..."
"Because you are terrified. Because I like your fear and horror towards me." Fang Yuan smiled warmly.
-x-X-x-
Three days later, a seriously injured Yan Yong returned to his tribe and woke up all the hibernating rockmen.
"A male immortal is here, he is a demon, he wanted to enslave all of us!"
"Not only this, he also wanted to take away the beautiful men of our rockmen tribe, to become his plaything."
"We rockmen are born of nature, free and unfettered, how could we bow our backs to such lecherous authority?"
"We resisted at the spot. The immortal was too strong, but we rockmen were not afraid of sacrificing and fought him without fearing death; finally, we injured him and beat him into retreat."
"The other tribesmen were all sacrificed and only I was able to return. I am dying but that immortal is still alive. Before he ran away, he said he will lead his fox army and annihilate all our rockmen tribes!"
Yan Yong weakly lamented, announcing a frightening information to his tribesmen.
The rockmen were shocked and afraid, grieving and also furious; some declared war, some wanted revenge, some mentioned migrating and some wanted to discuss.
They had become lost their bearings without a leader; whether it was the inheritor or the old tribe leader, they had all died at Fang Yuan's hands. There were altogether eight tribes of rockmen and they had fallen into chaos now.
Some rockmen wanted to get the concrete details from Yan Yong, but Yan Yong's injuries were too severe, and after informing them of this grievous news, he lost consciousness.
While they were still in the midst of discussing, just like Yan Yong said, waves after waves of fox groups started attacking rockmen tribes.
The rockmen resisted with all their strength, but there were way too many fox groups; the situation was gradually turning grave, the eight tribes had no choice but to ally and retreat underground to defend themselves.
However, the fox groups did not let them go and repeatedly attacked the underground. The fox groups paid a disastrous price every time they attacked, but they still came endlessly.
The rockmen cursed Fang Yuan, their hatred towards him were like a inferno that could not be extinguished. The situation became worse day by day and despair spread in the hearts of the rockmen.
However, right at this time, Yan Yong woke up.
Rockmen could recuperate from their injuries through sleep; his injuries had healed for the most part. He immediately led the rockmen and made beautiful counterattacks.
"We rockmen are a courageous group with no fear of death!"
"Even the immortal cannot humiliate us!"
Yan Yong announced to everyone and raised their morale.
"Don't think the immortal is strong, he is only a paper tiger and can only send these fox groups to their death, he is already injured."
At the same time, he proclaimed the injuries of the immortal and gave hope to the rockmen.
The despairing rockmen tightly grabbed onto this hope like it was a straw that could save them as they were drowning.
Yan Yong changed the subject and talked about the old tribe leaders.
"He was injured by the combined efforts of the old tribe leaders, the sacrifice of the old tribe leaders is our greatest grief."
"Especially the old white rock tribe leader, his life ended as he was in my arms, before he died he entrusted the whole tribe to me. I looked as his soul dispersed, and felt ashamed, why wasn't it me who died, but him!" He beat his chest as he said this, appearing to be extremely sad.
Immediately, some rockmen persuaded: "Lord Yan Yong, don't grieve. It is already very amazing you were able to survive and bring us the warning, even leading us towards victory."
"That's right, we iron rockmen all admire you."
"Since the old tribe leader entrusted the tribe to you, then please lead us white rockmen."
What rockmen liked was to sleep soundly and were not too obsessed with authority. Especially, at this juncture of life and death where they were living in anxiety, the rockmen hoped for a strong and brave rockman to lead them.
Thereupon, Yan Yong first inherited his tribe's tribe leader position and then white rock tribe.
Over a month later, he got hold of the remaining tribes one after another, becoming the joint leader of the eight rockmen tribes.
Another half a month passed, he led the rockmen and drove out the fox groups, protecting his tribes.
"This is not enough. As long as the immortal doesn't die, we have no future. The fox groups will regroup and attack our home again."
"We can only attack, attack that immortal mountain and completely kill the immortal for a beautiful and peaceful life."
Yan Yong immediately mentioned attacking Dang Hun mountain.
Some rockmen, however, seemed to hesitate.
"We have just suffered such a bitter battle, we just want to sleep now."
"Our rockmen population has decreased greatly, we don't have the strength to attack that demonic stronghold."
"We have large numbers of offsprings born from this bitter battle, we need to raise them properly till they become adults."
Yan Yong could only shift the topic to the old white rock tribe leader.
"My tribesmen, will I bring you to your deaths?"
"Attacking the immortal mountain was not my idea. It was a secret the old white rock tribe leader told me before his death."
"He said this immortal mountain is the legendary Dang Hun mountain. Dang Hun mountain has gutstones, if our rockmen can obtain these gutstones, it can increase our strength and make our tribes stronger!"
The old white rock tribe leader was the oldest and the most experienced rockman. He was widely known by the rockmen as the sage.
With his 'last words' along with Yan Yong's clear might, the rockmen were agitated and formed an expedition to attack Dang Hun mountain.
Fang Yuan had intentionally arranged some fox groups around Dang Hun mountain, forming a weak defensive line. @@novelbin@@
Yan Yong continually boosted the rockmen's morale: "See, there is not much left of the demonic immortal's fox army. We are already close to victory."
The rockmen sang of victory and triumph along the way, charging toward Dang Hun mountain with uplifted morale.
At Dang Hun mountain, Fang Yuan appeared with a group of foxes and fought a 'great battle' with the rockmen.
Fang Yuan showed terrifying strength and killed many rockmen, causing all the rockmen to be terrified.
But at this moment, Yan Yong stood up and pointed to Fang Yuan's injuries and his paper tiger 'immortal essence', and fought a 'decisive battle' with him.
The fox groups were eliminated, as Fang Yuan was 'defeated', forced to escape from Yan Yong's assault.
"Wait till I come back after gathering immortal essence from the water and fire! That moment will be your end!" Before retreating, Fang Yuan shouted loudly with a malevolent expression.
Rockmen had rough physique and their movements were slow, and not being familiar with Dang Hun mountain's terrain, they could only let Fang Yuan 'escape'.
The rockmen worshipped Yan Yong for beating back the immortal and cheered victoriously.
"My tribesmen, now is not the time to cheer." Yan Yong stood up, "We can't stay on Dang Hun mountain for long, this is a demonic land. The old white rock tribe leader had told me, every year only during these few days, we rockmen can enter this place safely. We need to hurry and collect the gutstones here. Three days later, we need to leave this place!"
Their bodies were made of solid rock. There was a burden on their soul to hold up such a strong and firm body. If the rockmen moved too excessively, it could harm their soul.
Thus, rockmen would spend eighty percent of their whole life sleeping and nurturing their soul.
When the foundation of their soul was thick enough, it would leak out. This overflowing part of the soul would fall on a rock and form a new life. Rockmen tribes reproduce like this.
After the rockmen obtained the gutstones, the guts Gu could strengthen and expand their soul, causing the soul to overflow and form little rockmen.
Three days later, inside the mountain, in Dang Hun palace.
Yan Yong kneeled on the ground and reported with reverence and fear as he lowered his head and bowed: "Reporting to the immortal, with these three days of soul strengthening, our rockmen tribes have increased by six thousand little rockmen. Including us old tribesmen, the whole population has increased to three times the population before the battle!"
Fang Yuan was sitting grandly on the fluffy bed and looked down at Yan Yong.
"Good, with this, your rockmen have enough manpower to start the river construction. Next, you remember what to do, right? Or do you need me to tell you again?"
Yan Yong promptly replied: "Supreme immortal, I did not dare to forget your words and have engraved them in my mind."
"Good." Fang Yuan nodded indifferently, "I will give you three months of time to dig a great river that cuts across the eastern and northern areas."
"Ah, three months?" Yan Yong was stupefied, "Mighty immortal, us rockmen need sleep to nurture our souls. If we move excessively, we will tire ourselves to death. The great river is so long, and with only three months of time, we would have not be able to have any rest. If we work like this, our rockmen tribes will probably die out."
"Hehehe, you won't die completely. I have already calculated, there will be over two hundred rockmen remaining." Fang Yuan laughed.
Yan Yong felt a chill in his body. There were ten thousand rockmen now, but there would only be over two hundred after the project. How terrifying of a sacrifice was this?
"Three months later, I want to see a great river! If I don't see it, I will tell the truth to your tribesmen before I kill you. Now roll away." Fang Yuan's tone was cold and unfeeling.
Yan Yong's body trembled all over hearing this demonic threat.
He had a very deep fear towards Fang Yuan and did not dare to retort, his body curled up into a ball and surprising, he really rolled away.
"Master, we paid a huge price back then to bring in these rockmen." The little Hu Immortal land spirit tactfully persuaded, she could not endure seeing such a huge amount of rockmen dying like this.
"Don't worry, the rockmen has still a great use to me. And isn't it easy to increase their population?" Fang Yuan leaned on a chair with his eyes squinting as he took out a burial soul toad from his aperture.
Burial soul toad was a rank four Gu used to store things. It was one of the Gu worms left by the Hu Immortal.
It was palm sized big and was grey color. There were small warts all over its back and its large eyes flashed with weird and gloomy green light.
It could only store souls and its belly would inflate as it sucked in the souls.
Fang Yuan used this to collect the souls of the rockmen who died in the battle with the fox groups.
Now, this soul burial toad's belly was deflated. The souls that were inside it before were placed on Dang Hun mountain by Fang Yuan to breed new gutstones.
Fang Yuan used a part of the gutstones to make his soul six times stronger than that of a normal person.
And the remaining gutstones were given to the rockmen tribes.
The rockmen had no idea, the strengthening of their souls was all due to the death of their companions.
-x-X-x-
Yan Yong got out of Dang Hun palace, after getting through some twisted and dark tunnels, he arrived on Dang Hun mountain.
After seeing the crystal pink mountain, Yan Yong blew out a breath of turbid air, his fear and pressure had decreased greatly after leaving Fang Yuan.
After moving on the mountain for a while, he was finally discovered by his tribemates.
"Oh, our great and honorable leader, our hero, you are here!" Some rockmen cheered.
"Please let me kiss your foot, to express my adoration of you." A few rockmen kneeled on the ground.
"Big hero, big hero! Your courage is greater than heaven, your guts is thicker than the earth." Some tiny rockmen formed into groups and shouted loudly.
Yan Yong laughed, no one knew how bitter he felt.
The cheers he heard were extremely joyous, there were many tribesmen around him, gathering together, but he felt extremely lonely at this point.
He looked at these tribesmen, these smiling rockmen, they were all going to die three months later. Dying of exhaustion after digging the river. But what could he do?
From what the other rockmen saw, Dang Hun mountain's victory was glorious, it was worth celebrating. But only he knew, this was only a game manipulated in the dark by that immortal.
The cruel and chilling truth made him understand clearly that the sacrifice of those rockmen, and this difficult victory, it was so laughably pathetic, they were powerless.
He led his tribesmen and gained more victories, but at the same time his fear towards Fang Yuan grew.
"That immortal, he is a demon! His heart is harder and colder than us rockmen, his strength is greater than the weight of the mountains. I am so weak, what can I do? Resistance means death. I admit my cowardice, I am really afraid of dying. I have not slept enough, I am only a hundred and eighty years old."
The moment Yan Yong thought about Fang Yuan's appearance, his heart was filled with terror.
His lingering bit of conscience was torturing him.
He knew: he was about to send his tribesmen to death personally. He was being grilled by his conscience, every praise from his tribesmen was like a whip, causing his heart to be full of pain and scars.
"Our esteemed, beloved tribe leader, you are finally back! Everyone's waiting." The rockmen gave way to Yan Yong, as he walked unobstructed towards higher ground.
"My tribesmen, these three days, our tribe has grown by many times. Our conquest has gotten us glorious results. But such victory is insufficient. Are you all willing to continue following me, towards a brighter future?" Yan Yong looked down at his tribesmen and shouted loudly.
The rockmen used the loudest cheer they could muster to express their hundred and twenty percent support towards Yan Yong.
Yan Yong nodded, he had expected such an outcome.
Among the rockmen, there were no outliers or knowledgeable old rockmen. During the few intense battles, they had "gloriously" sacrificed themselves.
The remaining rockmen were all newborn, they had a simple mind. As for the remaining old rockmen, they were all hardcore supporters of Yan Yong, his loyal worshippers.
Yan Yong patiently waited for the cheers to stop before continuing: "These three days, I had been considering — how do we deal with the escaped immortal. Immortals have immortal essence, thus they are able to control the fox army, and have terrifying strength. He must have retreated to the lake at the north area, or hid in east area's fire pit. We cannot allow him to recover."
"Tribe leader is right!"
"Tribe leader is too smart, we cannot allow that evil immortal to recover his immortal essence."
"When that accursed demon recovers his strength, he will definitely find trouble with us rockmen!"
"But what do we do now? The lake and fire pit are both dangerous areas. Even us rockmen cannot last long there. And these two areas are so wide, who knows where the immortal escaped to."
Everyone was speaking as the scene turned noisy.
Yan Yong interrupted everyone's discussions, shouting: "That's why, I thought of the only solution. We will use soil to fill the fire pit and lake, that way, the immortal will be unable to recover his immortal essence!"
"Oh god, that is an insane idea!" At once, some rockmen shouted.
"My great tribe leader, the lake is so wide, it causes people to stare in amazement. The fire pit has a fatal temperature, how can we use soil to fill it? That is impossible." An old rockmen immediately argued.
Yan Yong stared at this old rockmen deeply, remembering him to heart.
This rockmen dared to question him, it showed that his idolization was not deep enough, thus he shall get the heaviest and toughest job later, working to death.
At this time, another old rockmen said: "We cannot do this forcefully, I have a solution. Maybe we can dig out a river and direct the lake water to the fire pit, using water to neutralize fire, that will be easier."
Yan Yong's killing intent rose even more.
This old rockmen was very intelligent, he was a bigger threat than the old rockmen who rebuked him.
He immediately decided in this heart, he was going to send this old rockmen to a defense mission. He shall be killed by the fox army, this threat has to be eliminated!
Yan Yong praised this old man plainly, shouting: "That is exactly my idea, we have to dig a river and direct the water over to end the fire. The immortal will have no place to recover immortal essence! Actually, white stone old tribe leader taught me before dying, he said that the water at the north and the fire at the east were all done by that evil male immortal. That is the source of his power, just like how we rockmen eat soil."
"So white stone old tribe leader predicted this."
"White stone old tribe leader, as expected of our philosopher."
"White stone old tribe leader was already nine hundred and ninety-eight years old, of course he knew a lot."
All the rockmen nodded, expressing their agreement with white stone old tribe leader, but also felt deep pity and anguish towards his death.
Rockmen sleep for a long time, they have little interaction with each other. This sense of distance and mystery caused the deceased white stone old tribe leader's knowledge to feel extremely profound.
Using a phrase from Earth, if white stone old tribe leader could hear this in the afterlife, he might jump out of his coffin in anger.
But unfortunately, he was completely killed by Fang Yuan, his soul was not spared, broken down on Dang Hun mountain by Fang Yuan. The essence landed on the mountain, forming a gutstone.
Whether this gustone was smashed by a rockmen, or Fang Yuan himself, that would be an eternal mystery.
After discussing, the rockmen agreed that Yan Yong should be the leader, overseeing the digging to connect the water and fire.
Fang Yuan hid in the background, looking at this scene secretly. After seeing the finalized plan, he ordered little Hu Immortal.
The land spirit released a trace of Dang Hun mountain's power, and the rockmen felt their soul tremble, they got very dizzy. Many young rockmen fainted on the spot.
"Oh no, let's hurry and get out. Dang Hun mountain is going to attack!" Yan Yong said, as he left his tribesmen away from Dang Hun mountain.
They did not return to their original home, but instead got to the north and east area in a grand fashion.
In Dang Hun mountain, Fang Yuan looked expressionlessly at these leaving rockmen using the smoke cloud.
"Master, have you heard of the story of the rockmen?" Little Hu Immortal's tail was swaying as she spoke meekly. @@novelbin@@
Fang Yuan laughed lightly: "You want to urge me to use soft tactics with the rockmen?"
"Master is so smart." Little Hu Immortal's large eyes were shining.
"Heh, it seems you are not too familiar with this. Often, the power of fear and hatred surpasses gratitude greatly.
Back then, when Fang Yuan found out that there was a group of rockmen, he was overjoyed.
The rockmen lived underground, they ate soil as food and were skilled at digging. A large ground of rockmen could even build and underground city deep in the ground.
Rockmen could excavate resources for the blessed land's owner, they were excellent slaves. Many Gu Immortals want to buy rockmen and move them into their own blessed land.
For Hu Immortal blessed land, because of Dang Hun mountain, and provided it had enough souls, just one rockman can use the gutstones to breed into a large clan.
Fang Yuan could use this to mass produce rockmen and engage in slave trade with other Gu Immortals.
Back then, Hu Immortal brought all these rockmen in with the same intentions.
It was true, rockmen only succumbed to soft tactics. Most of the rockmen were stubborn and tough, warrior not afraid to die. Thus, many Gu Immortals have to use kindness and benefits to slowly use these rockmen and maximise their worth.
Hu Immortal used such a method.
But Fang Yuan did not adopt this.
It was too gentle.
He wanted squeeze them dry, to gain the most benefits!
This world's competition is so cruel, not only did man compete with each other, they also had to deal with disasters and calamities, who knows how many heroes had fallen to floods.
So what if you are a Gu Immortal?
If you did not arm yourself and make use of every resource you had to strengthen yourself, Hu Immortal's demise would be the best example.
A demonic path member has to make the best of his time, considering even the small bit of benefit, taking whatever he can and make himself stronger!
"Anyone in power has to understand: Rules, laws, friendship and morals, these are all tools to squeeze out benefits. Leniency and conscience, cruelty and hatred, they are all the same." Fang Yuan laughed coldly in his heart.
After wasting so much time with the rockmen, there were only seven months left to the sixth calamity.
The lake at the north, fire pit at the east, they were all scars left by previous calamities, weak spots of the blessed land. When earthly calamities occur, they would be the weakest link.
A team is only as strong as its weakest player. The weight a chain can hold up depends on the most fragile section.
"So what if I am hated, detested, and scolded by countless people?"
"If this world was so simple such that hatred, loathe, and curses work, why would I still need strength?"
The most important thing was digging the river as soon as possible, to help the blessed land recover as much as it could, it did not matter how many rockmen died in the process. Since Dang Hun mountain was here, he just had to capture a few souls and there would be an uncountable number of rockmen produced!